Mayor Wamp Agrees To Comply With Commission’s Resolutions Regarding County Attorney
Image Credit: Hamilton County Mayor’s Office / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
A County Commission meeting was specially called on Friday afternoon, wherein County Mayor Weston Wamp said he would comply completely with Commission resolutions.
Prior to the new county mayor’s statement, the Commission has discussed taking possible legal action against him.
At the meeting, the panel reviewed resolutions it had passed in support of longtime County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, who received a termination letter from new mayor Wamp.
Saying he was operating on a four-year contract, Attorney Taylor has declined to leave his position.
As a result, Mr. Wamp proceeded to deny him access to his office, confiscate his computer and cell phone, terminate his pay, and withdraw his health benefits.
When referring to him in talks with the Commission, he called him “the former county attorney”.
The Commission went over five resolutions it had passed in support of attorney Taylor and asked Mr. Wamp and his attorney if their orders had been followed.
Attorney Taylor filed a lawsuit against County Mayor Wamp and an order required Wamp to restore Taylor’s health benefits.
Since the Commission declared a deadline of noon Friday, Taylor has received his computer and cellphone back, as well as regained access to his office. The panel was also told that County Attorney Taylor was also going to be given a check that dates back to when his funding was halted.
Commissioners stated that the Wamp office was still not compliant because his Taylor termination was yet to be withdrawn.
County Commissioner Warren Mackey told the Chattanoogan, “We are not playing games here.”
Bond rating agencies are well aware of the Commission-County Mayor standoff. Commissioner Joe Graham is worried that the controversy will threaten the county’s AAA bond rating.
The Commission held a private conference with Attorney John Konvalinka. After returning from the meeting, the commissioners had a resolution read in the meeting that required mayor Wamp to abide by prior contracts.
Mr. Wamp was then asked if he was in compliance with the resolution, and he agreed.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
Wamp is a partisan political hack.
Mayor Wamp is not legally bound by any County Commission Resolution other than the budget, approval of debt and the adoption of a tax rate. The Hamilton County Attorney’s Office is a “department” that is under the Mayor’s jurisdiction. TN State law is clear in that the County Mayor gets to appoint the County Attorney not the County Commission. The fact that the County Attorney entered into an employment contract with the former County Mayor is irrelevant since these types of contracts are not legally binding. From a political view it looks like Mayor Wamp walked right into a trap and did not recognize it until he stirred up a hornet’s nest. For now he can sit tight and not renew the current contract in 30 months.